exactly. this isn’t to say that US agencies have backdoors written into TOR per se, but they have had TOR delay the patching of exploits in order to achieve the same end

And where is the proof of that?

Just because someone gives money to the Tor Project doesn't mean they get to tell them exactly what to do.

I'll put it like this: if parts of the US government are using exploits to de-anonymise TOR users, which is hard to dispute, and they're funding the TP, which they are and always have done, and they're the US government, which has never had any qualms about interfering with companies that aren't funded by them, never mind ones that are, why do you think they wouldn't delay patches in order to maintain an exploit?

the US collective funds TOR so that they can exert control over the field of play, or even just keep it in sight. perhaps that control is relatively small and only used in extremely high-profile cases, but that's more useful than nothing at all

it's a parenting paradigm: it's safer for your kids to drink at home than out at a bar or in a park somewhere, because at least at home you can keep an eye on things